Doc Charged In Death Of Special Needs Child

The former doctor of 14-year-old Makayla Norman (pictured), a southwest Ohio child with cerebral palsy who weighed a mere 28 pounds at the time of her death, has been charged with failing to report child abuse or neglect in connection to her death, Fox News reports.

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Dr. Margaret Edwards was charged with three misdemeanor counts in juvenile court in Dayton on Wednesday. Three nurses connected to the case have also been charged. All have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Prosecutors say that Edwards was Makayla’s doctor from July 2010 until March 1, the day she died from malnutrition and medical neglect. The doctor was suppose to report any abuse to authorities, but Montgomery County prosecutor Mathias Heck, Jr. said she failed to do so.

“As with the other defendants, this defendant utterly ignored her responsibilities and failed to report the obvious signs of neglect of Makayla,” Heck told the Dayton Daily News.

Here is more from the Daily News:

Makayla weighed 28 pounds at her death, her body covered with filth and open bedsores, her hair and eyebrows infested with lice, her diaper and colon filled with feces. Stricken with cerebral palsy, Makayla could neither speak, move, nor feed herself.

Police and prosecutors claim Makayla was abandoned by her mother, her nurse, the nurse supervising Makayla’s care and the nurse/social worker in charge of overseeing the taxpayer-funded program that kept Makayla with her family — all with the consent of her mother.

Edwards, 50, earned her medical degree in 1992 from the Wright State University School of Medicine, according to state records.
State Medical Board of Ohio officials said Edwards’ license is still active and has no disciplinary history, though they will be watching this case.

Makayla’s mother pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and endangering children. She was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Makayla’s cruel death, according to the Daily News, was mired in bureaucracy and red tape that stretches from Columbus to Washington, D.C.